Post by ifayomi on Aug 28, 2006 12:51:34 GMT -5
Ela moyin'boru'boye'bosise
I would like to include some of my own learning into this topic, as I seem to
not get
around on these topics as quick as everyone else.
I will have have always used the wisdom within the Ifa corpus as the basis of my
reply, and
will deploy the same here.
I presented a paper (non-academic) at the Orisa World conference in Havana in
2003 that
talks about this same issue, it was titled Discovering Orisa Within Ifa Corpus,
Ifa's Central
Position with Orisa Worship, the reason is far too often we address Ifa & Orisa
as
separate, yet the Orisa are within the corpus of Ifa (as one aspect of Ifa
literally is the
message of Olodumare for humanity, and not the same as Orunmila) , so when we
start to
have questions and need clarity of the fundament of any Orisa we must search
within Ifa
corpus, that is where we will find many things (ie. foods, taboo, mood of
worship, place of
origin etc) about every Orisa, even the uncommon Orisa.
To answer the question about birthing from an Odu, we are a part of Ifa from
birth and
when we choose our destiny before coming to earth, this destiny (Ori) is
separated into
three components; Ayanmo, Akuleyan & Akunlegba (more later), your Ori is your
dynamic
force or potentials, natural qualities and the strength of your character they
are the
elements that mingle with the 3 aspects of Destiny above, I will break them down
in brief
as I don't want to divert too much from topic
Ayanmo: these are fixed qualities, don't change, they are race, gender, family
born to etc
Akunleyan: virtues & values, they form our perferences (likes/dislikes etc),
this we choose
Akunlegba: are additives to our choosen virtues, given by various Irunmole, in
the realm of
Onibode and happen during the later stages of pregnancy.
now to get back to the question, when we have choosen our Akunleyan a part of
that is the
Irunmole that will assist us in life or Ifa tells us to cling to (different then
ones ruling
"Orisa") again may or may not be ones "ruling" deity* but in some way they work
together,
(*the issue of "ruling" divinity is a complete topic unto itself, as to some
regard it would fit
into Ayanmo but another is it Akunleyan, in Yorubaland in most cases ones deity
would be
hereditary or come during esentaye, but due to our situation in the diaspora, it
would have
to be divined specifically, again another topic) it is that combination (Ayanmo
&
Akunleyan) that comprise ones choosen destiny, plus the added Irunmole that will
assist
one in life that whole matrix are the foundation of ones Odu Ifa, it is this
complex
combination that tells us who we are, what we are, what we are to do/not do,
what our
responsibilities in life are, how we will be successful, what will be our
hinderances in life,
and all of these how to attain them and what to watch out for as detractors,
that is ones
Life or foot print on this world we call Odu Ifa, that is why each of ours is
different, and
even the same Odu Ifa can have different messages (careful, this is not
different
interpretations) the same Odu can have various messages based on many factors
based on
a complex web of indicators.
Ifa tell us that we are ALL born from a woman, women are the progenitors of this
earth,
the most ancient human (the first to walk this earth as we call now human being)
was a
female (surprise surprise), Ifa tell us this she was the only human born by
Divinity (I think
from Olodumare, but my memory slips me) and placed on earth while still very
young and
was going through many "stages/rites" to prepare for woman/motherhood, she was
to be
the wife of the first Oduduwa as the progenitor of humanity on this earth but he
was not a
human, as she was.
Her name IS Ninibeni, the complete break down escapes me but the Eni is where we
have
Eniyan in Yoruba meaning human being, she was the first, and all of us who claim
to be a
human came from this Woman, the progenitor of humanity, again my memory slips me
but I think the story is within Odu Ifa IrosunOgbe, I am not the authority on
this, it was
taught to me from my elders and the story told from the elders Babalawo in Saki
town
northern Oyo State Nigeria, it will be in full as part of Solagbade Popoola next
coming
book Ikunle Abiyamo (translation: it was on bent knees I gave brith)
highlighting the
scaredness of the primordial Divinity of Birthing Rites.
So my point is any being that has issue with women or looks down at women has no
business on this earth as we ALL are an aspect of this Woman the special
creation of the
creator to bring humanity to this world, the other people who do not respect the
basis for
humanity (which came from this Woman) had better find another place to trek
upon.
Now regarding the issue of Orunmila's first born child, I think it was in Iwori
Meji that Ifa
teaches that one time Orunmila lived on earth he went for a long time childless,
and when
the appropriate ebo was performed and in course shortly there after he gave
birth to a
baby girl, which was his only child for some time before he had another, during
the time
he taught her Ifa stanzas, initiated his daughter into Ifa, and lead her through
the many
rudiments of Ifa apprenticeship, as she grew Orunmila had another baby this was
a boy,
which he left a great deal of his study to come from his elder sister, the
daughter was
called Alara, now the question is if this is the same Alara one of the ancient
traditional
kings of the Yorubaland or the original Alara, that is unclear, but can be
cleared with some
research, even as such in some cases it is said Alara was the child of Oduduwa
and other
the child of Orunmila, so again as one starts to dig deeper into the knowledge
of Ifa one
can see how these two are closely related, even when Orunmila initiated Oduduwa
into Ifa
and so on.
Last point I would like to make is the issue of balance found within the coded
messages of
Ifa, when we read or hear a passage of Ifa one needs to be cautioned as to
taking the story
out of context or even the interpretation out of context, the best people to
break the
stories down are people deeply routed in the tradition/culture of Ifa and can
then decipher
the message to properly deliver it to people (like us) who are still at the dawn
of
understanding or internalizing this ancient wisdom we call Ifa. So many of the
stories of
the adventours of Orunmila or any of the "actors/tress" within the stories of
Ifa, not
everyone can be an authority in breaking it down to deliver it to a person who
in some
cases has never stepped foot in Yorubaland, let alone got to understand the
overt cultural
behaviours much less the covert ones, it takes time, and many return visits to
being to
touch the surface. But Ifa is not about one over the other or issues of
superiority, we have
different roles and that is from Nature, but we are very much equals and
complimentary,
as some areas where women are superior they will still need the hepl of a male
and vice-
versa, so we are co-dependant, Olodumare had reason to make it so, or we would
have
operated in a much different way.
Let us both genders in the name of peace and harmony, operate in a respectful
manner,
seek for balance within and with our task partners (other gender), let us enjoy
what makes
us different, let us trek softly on this earth, let us enhance what we do best
to compliment
our partners task (the other gender) in making this Earth the divine place Ifa
designed it to
be
In other words. let us live how Orunmila lived, he shows us in many stanzas of
Ifa what
happened and all the problems that came about then gave us the solution to
rectify the
matter, now we need to learn those lessons, is is about time
I greet women to study Ifa, you are welcome, we males need the balance within
the
priesthood of Ifa that you offer, we need more, you are more then welcome.
I seek womens knowledge and direction in my daily activities knowing that what
that
woman will say will only compliment what thoughts are within my mind, thus
making me
whole = BALANCE
Respectfully written and hope I have not offened anyone, apologies for the
length
may the Irunmole lead us to a higher level of intelligence and balance in our
daily lives
Aboru, Aboye, Abosise
(side note these three are also three important wives of Orunmila, as told to us
in Eji Ogbe,
Ifa tell us of the strength of the root which is also poison, but the leaf and
cure and the
fruit taste very pleasant, which Ifa is hinting to the attributes of his 3wives
which are also
essential within Ifa practice and the prayer/peace that the words bring to ones
life, YES
this is yet another deep topic to discuss another time, Ifa is too deep)
Awoyinfa Ifaloju
International Coordinator At-Large
International Council for Ifa Religion
I would like to include some of my own learning into this topic, as I seem to
not get
around on these topics as quick as everyone else.
I will have have always used the wisdom within the Ifa corpus as the basis of my
reply, and
will deploy the same here.
I presented a paper (non-academic) at the Orisa World conference in Havana in
2003 that
talks about this same issue, it was titled Discovering Orisa Within Ifa Corpus,
Ifa's Central
Position with Orisa Worship, the reason is far too often we address Ifa & Orisa
as
separate, yet the Orisa are within the corpus of Ifa (as one aspect of Ifa
literally is the
message of Olodumare for humanity, and not the same as Orunmila) , so when we
start to
have questions and need clarity of the fundament of any Orisa we must search
within Ifa
corpus, that is where we will find many things (ie. foods, taboo, mood of
worship, place of
origin etc) about every Orisa, even the uncommon Orisa.
To answer the question about birthing from an Odu, we are a part of Ifa from
birth and
when we choose our destiny before coming to earth, this destiny (Ori) is
separated into
three components; Ayanmo, Akuleyan & Akunlegba (more later), your Ori is your
dynamic
force or potentials, natural qualities and the strength of your character they
are the
elements that mingle with the 3 aspects of Destiny above, I will break them down
in brief
as I don't want to divert too much from topic
Ayanmo: these are fixed qualities, don't change, they are race, gender, family
born to etc
Akunleyan: virtues & values, they form our perferences (likes/dislikes etc),
this we choose
Akunlegba: are additives to our choosen virtues, given by various Irunmole, in
the realm of
Onibode and happen during the later stages of pregnancy.
now to get back to the question, when we have choosen our Akunleyan a part of
that is the
Irunmole that will assist us in life or Ifa tells us to cling to (different then
ones ruling
"Orisa") again may or may not be ones "ruling" deity* but in some way they work
together,
(*the issue of "ruling" divinity is a complete topic unto itself, as to some
regard it would fit
into Ayanmo but another is it Akunleyan, in Yorubaland in most cases ones deity
would be
hereditary or come during esentaye, but due to our situation in the diaspora, it
would have
to be divined specifically, again another topic) it is that combination (Ayanmo
&
Akunleyan) that comprise ones choosen destiny, plus the added Irunmole that will
assist
one in life that whole matrix are the foundation of ones Odu Ifa, it is this
complex
combination that tells us who we are, what we are, what we are to do/not do,
what our
responsibilities in life are, how we will be successful, what will be our
hinderances in life,
and all of these how to attain them and what to watch out for as detractors,
that is ones
Life or foot print on this world we call Odu Ifa, that is why each of ours is
different, and
even the same Odu Ifa can have different messages (careful, this is not
different
interpretations) the same Odu can have various messages based on many factors
based on
a complex web of indicators.
Ifa tell us that we are ALL born from a woman, women are the progenitors of this
earth,
the most ancient human (the first to walk this earth as we call now human being)
was a
female (surprise surprise), Ifa tell us this she was the only human born by
Divinity (I think
from Olodumare, but my memory slips me) and placed on earth while still very
young and
was going through many "stages/rites" to prepare for woman/motherhood, she was
to be
the wife of the first Oduduwa as the progenitor of humanity on this earth but he
was not a
human, as she was.
Her name IS Ninibeni, the complete break down escapes me but the Eni is where we
have
Eniyan in Yoruba meaning human being, she was the first, and all of us who claim
to be a
human came from this Woman, the progenitor of humanity, again my memory slips me
but I think the story is within Odu Ifa IrosunOgbe, I am not the authority on
this, it was
taught to me from my elders and the story told from the elders Babalawo in Saki
town
northern Oyo State Nigeria, it will be in full as part of Solagbade Popoola next
coming
book Ikunle Abiyamo (translation: it was on bent knees I gave brith)
highlighting the
scaredness of the primordial Divinity of Birthing Rites.
So my point is any being that has issue with women or looks down at women has no
business on this earth as we ALL are an aspect of this Woman the special
creation of the
creator to bring humanity to this world, the other people who do not respect the
basis for
humanity (which came from this Woman) had better find another place to trek
upon.
Now regarding the issue of Orunmila's first born child, I think it was in Iwori
Meji that Ifa
teaches that one time Orunmila lived on earth he went for a long time childless,
and when
the appropriate ebo was performed and in course shortly there after he gave
birth to a
baby girl, which was his only child for some time before he had another, during
the time
he taught her Ifa stanzas, initiated his daughter into Ifa, and lead her through
the many
rudiments of Ifa apprenticeship, as she grew Orunmila had another baby this was
a boy,
which he left a great deal of his study to come from his elder sister, the
daughter was
called Alara, now the question is if this is the same Alara one of the ancient
traditional
kings of the Yorubaland or the original Alara, that is unclear, but can be
cleared with some
research, even as such in some cases it is said Alara was the child of Oduduwa
and other
the child of Orunmila, so again as one starts to dig deeper into the knowledge
of Ifa one
can see how these two are closely related, even when Orunmila initiated Oduduwa
into Ifa
and so on.
Last point I would like to make is the issue of balance found within the coded
messages of
Ifa, when we read or hear a passage of Ifa one needs to be cautioned as to
taking the story
out of context or even the interpretation out of context, the best people to
break the
stories down are people deeply routed in the tradition/culture of Ifa and can
then decipher
the message to properly deliver it to people (like us) who are still at the dawn
of
understanding or internalizing this ancient wisdom we call Ifa. So many of the
stories of
the adventours of Orunmila or any of the "actors/tress" within the stories of
Ifa, not
everyone can be an authority in breaking it down to deliver it to a person who
in some
cases has never stepped foot in Yorubaland, let alone got to understand the
overt cultural
behaviours much less the covert ones, it takes time, and many return visits to
being to
touch the surface. But Ifa is not about one over the other or issues of
superiority, we have
different roles and that is from Nature, but we are very much equals and
complimentary,
as some areas where women are superior they will still need the hepl of a male
and vice-
versa, so we are co-dependant, Olodumare had reason to make it so, or we would
have
operated in a much different way.
Let us both genders in the name of peace and harmony, operate in a respectful
manner,
seek for balance within and with our task partners (other gender), let us enjoy
what makes
us different, let us trek softly on this earth, let us enhance what we do best
to compliment
our partners task (the other gender) in making this Earth the divine place Ifa
designed it to
be
In other words. let us live how Orunmila lived, he shows us in many stanzas of
Ifa what
happened and all the problems that came about then gave us the solution to
rectify the
matter, now we need to learn those lessons, is is about time
I greet women to study Ifa, you are welcome, we males need the balance within
the
priesthood of Ifa that you offer, we need more, you are more then welcome.
I seek womens knowledge and direction in my daily activities knowing that what
that
woman will say will only compliment what thoughts are within my mind, thus
making me
whole = BALANCE
Respectfully written and hope I have not offened anyone, apologies for the
length
may the Irunmole lead us to a higher level of intelligence and balance in our
daily lives
Aboru, Aboye, Abosise
(side note these three are also three important wives of Orunmila, as told to us
in Eji Ogbe,
Ifa tell us of the strength of the root which is also poison, but the leaf and
cure and the
fruit taste very pleasant, which Ifa is hinting to the attributes of his 3wives
which are also
essential within Ifa practice and the prayer/peace that the words bring to ones
life, YES
this is yet another deep topic to discuss another time, Ifa is too deep)
Awoyinfa Ifaloju
International Coordinator At-Large
International Council for Ifa Religion